I don't get to go home often - every time we save up enough leave something comes up, or the money's not there (student loans essentially make me ineligible for credit cards). I live in South Dakota but we are military - always on the move.

We really wanted to go back to Germany now that my son was born in February (fun fact: we have the same birthday!) and my grandparents are getting old. Plus, I miss the hell out of Döner Kebabs and a nice Schnitzel.

With a newborn (he will be about 4 months at travel) I was worried about his ears. My goal was sit away from my wife and when he cries to be the first and loudest to complain to the flight crew. He a really laid back baby - never cries, sleeps from 10:00pm to 6:00am, no problems at theaters or hockey games - but I know people get super pissed about babies crying on a plane.

The 787 has it's unique atmosphere pressurization system but they only fly to London. From London I have to find a different flight to Frankfurt not to mention the flights from Rapid City to wherever the 787 flies (already forgot).

I looked at American Airways and found some cheap tickets and learned a cool feature: airlines offer baby bassinets that clip into the bulkhead. It's like a free baby seat! It can't be used during takeoff, landing, or turbulence.

The catch with AA was it was first come, first serve. I found out that on Lufthansa flights, you can reserve one.

So we bought tickets on Lufthansa out of Chicago on their new 747-8. This is Lufthansa's flagship plane (besides the A380) and boasts a lot of the 787's tech, including interior modifications, new engines, new wings, etc. They have a ridiculous amount of on-demand entertainment and offer wifi - Oppo posts at 35,000 feet! The wifi is a bit pricey (€20 for 24 hours) but might be prove a godsend if the movie/TV choices are slim

I selected the Muslim meal package, here's to hoping it doesn't attract much attention. They're normally quite tasty and higher quality than the usual "chicken or pasta?" choices. Business class would make flying with a baby super easy but unless someone wants to donate some flier miles, I'll be in coach showing off my baby and making a point to stand next to people who complain about his crying with him

After reading my book of a post, enjoy some plane p0rn and generic images of the baby bassinets.